1. Field of the Application
The invention relates generally to breastpumps. More particularly, the present invention relates a system for adhesively supporting a breast shield, as well as related breast pump equipment, on a woman's breast, and a method of using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Breastpumps for the purpose of extracting breastmilk from a nursing mother are well-known and generally comprise: a breastshield (also known as a hood) that is typically funnel-shaped and fits over the breast; a pressure source, typically vacuum, connected to the breastshield for generating an intermittent vacuum within the breastshield such that milk is expressed from the breast; and a conduit structure for communicating milk from the breastshield to a receptacle for the expressed milk, as well as for communicating pressure variations (such as the foregoing vacuum) to the breastshield. There are occasions when mothers cannot conveniently plug a breastpump into an external vacuum source or an electrical outlet is not available. In those instances, battery-powered or manual breastpumps may be used to express milk.
Manually-operated breastpumps typically must be operated by two hands: one to hold the breastshield in place and the other to drive the pump (e.g., a piston cylinder). A number of the pumps do provide for one-handed use, but still plainly require the use of a mother's hand(s) to operate or support the pump—such as when double-pumping using a motor-driven pressure source—thus limiting the mother's activities, and in some instances preventing the mother from accomplishing any other task while she is expressing milk.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,166 to Silver et al. describes one attempt at breast shield support, such as a garment, for supporting a breastshield of a breast pump upon a woman's breast in a “hands-free” manner. While useful in freeing up the mother's hands for other activity, these and similar “hands-free” arrangements generally require a separate garment, special bra, or other accessories and accoutrements to keep the breastpump assembly in place, especially if also supporting the milk container.
Thus, it would be advantageous to provide a mother with something that could be simply and readily used to permit her to use a breastpump, while also allowing her the free use of her hands to perform other tasks, yet does not require any extra or special garment. It would likewise be useful to provide such a solution that is reusable, or alternatively inexpensive enough to be disposable.